


The Wind at my Back

by LittleSnowyOne



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Age Difference, Blood and Violence, M/M, Minor Character Death, Post-Canon, avatar name is Carter, build 3 male avatar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28453590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleSnowyOne/pseuds/LittleSnowyOne
Summary: After searching for months, Chrom found his tactician, Carter, who was presumed dead after landing the final blow on Grima. Two years later, many things have changed - Chrom's wife has died, and the Plegians are trying to force Carter to take the throne. Still, Chrom and Carter remain close...and become closer than either would have ever imagined.
Relationships: Chrom/My Unit | Reflet | Robin
Kudos: 2





	1. The Tactician's Record

**_Two years ago..._ **

Chrom had been searching for months, but to him, those months had felt like an eternity. His chief tactician - and closest friend, a man by the name of Carter - had disappeared after blasting the Fell Dragon, Grima, away with a burst of magic. Although the entire Ylissean force and their allies had all thought that the tactician was still alive, most of them had given up on ever finding him...but not Chrom. Now, his efforts had paid off, as he and his younger sister, Lissa, had found him laying face-down on the ground yet again. This brought back old memories for Chrom - this is how he had met the other man. At the time, Carter had no memories, but quickly won over Chrom and most of his allies (save Frederick, who was suspicious of him at first) with his immense strength and his sharp mind.

Chrom struggled to help Carter to his feet, just like last time. The other was slightly taller and heavier than Chrom, which made the job more difficult. Nevertheless, Carter was now standing, looking rather bewildered.

"What's with that expression, Carter?" Chrom asked. "I hope you haven't lost your memories again..."

Carter shook his head. "No... It's not that. I just don't know how I got here. It's almost as if I was unconscious for a long time..."

Chrom smiled warmly. "Don't worry too much about it. Anyway, let's go home. Everyone will be glad to see you."

"I hope so," Carter said, nervously twirling his finger in the lock of hair hanging over his left temple.

"Why wouldn't they be?" Lissa chimed in. 

"I'm worried they might be upset at me for worrying them."

"No worries, Carter. Let's go see everyone in Ylisstol."

***

_**Present Day** _

It was the day of the diplomatic mission to the once-hostile nation of Plegia. As the Exalt of the Halidom of Ylisse, it fell upon 23-year-old Chrom to lead the mission. Chrom had nothing but bad memories of Plegia - he often stated that Carter, who was of Plegian heritage, was the only good thing to exist that had ties to the nation. Nevertheless, he was duty-bound, and so he begrudgingly selected a group to go with him. In this group was Carter, Lissa, Frederick, and a young knight named Stahl. 

Once the group arrived, they were quickly ushered into the castle. Chrom had no idea why - Plegia had not had a ruler since the dark sorcerer Validar - Carter's father and leader of the Grimleal - had been killed. Eventually, an elderly mage walked over to Chrom and company.

"Excuse me, Your Excellency," he stated. "I am the record keeper here. I see that you have Carter with you. I should warn you to be careful."

Carter and Chrom exchanged a confused glance, and then turned back to face the man. 

"Is that a threat?!" Chrom growled, jaw clenched.

"No, but the other Plegians want Carter to ascend the throne, and are willing to do anything they feel necessary to achieve that."

"Gods! Is there any end to this madness?"

Carter raised his hand and said, "I hate to interrupt, but I don't have Grima's power anymore. They wouldn't want me to rule them, especially if they found out that _I_ am the one who killed Grima..."

The record keeper shook his head sadly. "They already know. They insist on having a king who is more powerful than the Fell Dragon."

Carter felt ill. He knew that he was perfectly fine physically, but he couldn't shake the feeling of dread.

"Milord. We need to leave before we are captured," Frederick said solemnly, breaking the silence.

"W-wait, before you go... I want to give His Excellency and Carter a gift, so that the journey here wasn't a complete waste," stammered the record keeper. He dug in his satchel and pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper.

"What is this...?" Carter asked.

"Your records, specifically your birth records. But don't open it now - you and the others must flee!"

"...Thank you," Chrom said reluctantly. "We will take our leave now."

With that, Chrom and company left for Ylisse as quickly as possible.

***

Once they had arrived home, Chrom was in a more jovial mood.

"Hey, Carter! Come over here and open the records! I'm curious to know what they say!"

Carter walked over and opened up the scroll.

"Apparently, I was born in early December...the sixth, to be exact..." Carter mused. "But the year... Gods, I'm old..."

Chrom looked over Carter's shoulder at the paper. "46 isn't old," he said after a while.

"I feel old anyway...but thanks," the tactician sighed.

"Hey, wait a minute... It lists Validar as your father, naturally, but it seems your mother was a dark mage named Sandra," Chrom stated, hoping to distract Carter from his misery. Chrom's plan seemed to work, as Carter's face lit up with a smile.

"Ah, there's no date of death like there is for Validar!" he exclaimed. "Maybe my mother is still alive somewhere!"

"I hope so, Carter. And if she is, I hope you find one another," Chrom said, patting Carter on the back.

Carter smiled warmly at Chrom, barely resisting the urge to hug him. Despite their being close, Carter still wanted to show some formality, even though Chrom said it was all right to be informal.

The two continued laughing and talking into the late hours of the night. Little did they know what dangers lay ahead...


	2. Facing Danger

It had been a few days since the diplomatic mission to Plegia. Carter still worried about the fact that the Plegians wanted him to ascend the throne, despite Chrom's attempts to reassure him that nothing bad could happen if Carter stayed in Ylisse. Nevertheless, the tactician had a bad feeling about what was happening...

Carter decided to take a walk around Ylisstol - the capital city of Ylisse - which surrounded the castle. He often took walks to ease feelings of sadness or anxiety, and he was feeling _quite_ anxious at the moment. He headed for the marketplace to browse the shops and see if any new books were being sold. Suddenly, though, he heard a scream in the residential area of the city. Fearing what might be happening, Carter rushed to the residential area, where a group of three swordsmen were cornering a townsperson.

"Where's Carter?" one of the men asked, holding his sword towards the townsperson.

"Y-you mean the Exalt's chief tactician, right?" the townsperson asked. "I... I have no idea..."

"Useless..." said another swordsman. "Let's get rid of him and be on our way."

Carter was appalled by the fact that the townspeople would be in danger if they didn't know where he was, and was shocked at the lack of a guard in the area. He knew he had to do something. Before the swordsmen could harm the civilian, Carter called out to them.

"Hey, you! You're looking for me, right? If so...then leave the civilians alone!"

The group turned and looked at Carter, malice in their eyes. "You're coming with us to Plegia, whether you like it or not!"

Carter shook his head. "I'm not going. Ylisse is my home now."

"I guess we'll have to take you there by force, then!" one swordsman said. "Let's get him, guys!"

Carter drew his own sword, ready to fight. The three charged at him, but he dodged, spun on his heel, and struck one of them down.

"Okay, our circumstances have changed," one of the remaining swordsman said. "He's too dangerous! We're going to have to kill him. "

Upon hearing this, Carter gripped his blade tighter, ready to fight for his life. The fight continued for a long time, with Carter blocking attacks from both sides. He was growing tired, and he knew that he had to stop blocking and take the risk of being injured in order to defeat another of his foes. After he slashed at one swordsman, taking him out, he turned to face the other in order to finish the conflict. Before Carter could react, his opponent swung his sword, leaving a gash across Carter's chest. Carter cried out in pain and staggered a few steps back, instinctively grabbing his chest.

"You're finished!" the swordsman shouted, but before he could attack, he was struck down by an unnoticed person. 

"Damn you and that tactician!" the swordsman said as he lay dying.

Carter's savior stepped out of the shadows just as the tactician collapsed to the ground. Carter turned his gaze in the direction of this individual, who turned out to be Chrom, with Frederick right behind him. Chrom rushed to Carter's side, seeming deeply upset. He knelt, took off his cape, and began tearing it into strips to use as makeshift bandages. 

"Frederick! Go get Lissa, and hurry!" Chrom called out as he began tying the strips around Carter's chest in an attempt to stop the bleeding, which had already plastered Carter's shirt to his body.

"Carter, what happened?" Chrom asked.

"Th-these swordsmen came from Plegia to try to capture me... They were threatening the townspeople... I had to stop them..." Carter replied weakly.

"Where was the guard assigned to this area?" 

"I didn't see him anywhere..."

"Curses, where could that guard have gone...?" 

Carter could feel his consciousness begin fading. "Ch-Chrom... I'm afraid..." he said, trying to reach towards the Exalt's face for comfort.

"I won't let you die!" Chrom cried out. "Just hang on!"

Suddenly, the sound of a running horse could be heard. Frederick had arrived with Lissa in tow. Before Carter could say anything, he lost consciousness, his hand falling back to his side.

***

Carter woke up to find himself in Castle Ylisse's infirmary. He looked around the room and noticed his bloodied shirt and robes on a table to his left, and a curtain to his right. He could hear a conversation going on behind the curtain, so he began to listen. He recognized the voices as Chrom and Frederick.

"That damn guard!" Chrom yelled. "He was in service to Ylisse! How did he take a payoff from those Plegians?!"

"Calm down, milord," Frederick replied. "He is imprisoned now, awaiting his sentence."

"But what if Carter dies of his wounds? No sentence will bring him back..."

Carter could tell that by Chrom's voice that he was on the verge of tears. Feeling distressed by his friend's despair, Carter tried to get out of the infirmary bed, but ended up falling on the floor due to a sudden sharp pain.

The conversation immediately ceased, and Chrom and Frederick were soon standing over Carter.

"Carter! You're awake!" Chrom shouted happily.

"He is, milord, but he's still in no condition to be trying to walk around," said Frederick, shaking his head.

Carter sighed. "I'm sorry, Chrom... I was worried for you because you seemed so upset..."

"I'm just glad you'll be okay," Chrom said, a hint of relief in his voice. "Frederick, help me get him back in bed." 

Once Carter was back in the bed, Chrom said, "Get some rest. I'll see you later."


End file.
